Mar. 28, 2013
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by Gary Levin, USA TODAY

by Gary Levin, USA TODAY

Barbara Walters, the doyenne of TV news and big newsmaker interviews, is planning to hang it up in May 2014.

The newswoman, who hosts ABC's The View and prime-time specials, is 83, and will "likely" retire next spring, said a person familiar with her plans but not authorized to comment publicly, confirming a report published on Deadline.com. A series of tributes and specials will air during the run-up to her exit, the person said, adding that an announcement from Walters herself is not expected anytime soon. An ABC News spokeswoman declined comment.

A trailblazing journalist, Walters was the first female co-host of NBC's Today starting in 1974, and the first female evening-news anchor in an ill-fated pairing with Harry Reasoner at ABC a few years later. She has been the lead moderator of The View since its inception in 1997. She has occasionally battled health problems; she had open-heart surgery in 2010 and took leave earlier this year to recover from chicken pox.